Family, friends and members of the community release balloons during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family, friends and members of the community gather during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

A family member who only wants to be known as Bryson, says a prayer and shares his frustration as he stands in a circle of family, friends and members of the community during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family, friends and members of the community gather during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

A family member who only wants to be known as Bryson, offers a prayer as he stands in a circle of family, friends and members of the community during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family mourn their loss during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family, friends and members of the community gather during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

A man ties balloons during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Members of the community spell RIP with candles during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Members of the community light candles during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family wants justice for father gunned down in Metairie: 'He was just a good person'

Family, friends and members of the community release balloons during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family, friends and members of the community gather during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

A family member who only wants to be known as Bryson, says a prayer and shares his frustration as he stands in a circle of family, friends and members of the community during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family, friends and members of the community gather during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

A family member who only wants to be known as Bryson, offers a prayer as he stands in a circle of family, friends and members of the community during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family mourn their loss during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Family, friends and members of the community gather during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

A man ties balloons during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Members of the community spell RIP with candles during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Members of the community light candles during the vigil for John Gregory in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. John Gregory, 38 died of multiple gunshot wounds about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie. No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

John Gregory was supposed to be back in Georgia by now, hunting for a new house to share with his fiancée and 4-month-old daughter.

He was supposed to be working out the details to start his own business selling New Orleans-style snowballs in Atlanta, where the Metairie native lived for the past three years. Gregory had recently come into a large cash settlement from a serious injury, and he’d hoped the money would give him a new start in life.

Sadly, Gregory’s big dreams are no more, halted by his murder Monday afternoon during a trip home to Metairie to visit family.

“I want justice for my brother,” his sister, Katrina Gregory, 41, said Wednesday. “They didn’t have to kill him like that.”

John Gregory, 38, was fatally shot while standing in the 1300 block of South Wilson Street in Metairie’s Bunche Village neighborhood, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. He died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Investigators have not publicly identified a suspect or a motive in the killing. Gregory’s family members said they’ve heard rumors about a dispute over money.

“He was just a good person. He was just outgoing and fun,” Katrina Gregory said. “They took his life for no reason.”

John Gregory grew up in Bunche Village. His family didn’t have much, and he struggled with drug addiction, his sister said. He spent about 10 years in prison after a 2000 conviction for dealing cocaine, according to Jefferson Parish court records.

Gregory eventually moved to Atlanta, where he was injured after falling four stories from a dry-rotted apartment balcony, Katrina Gregory said. He lost a portion of his heel, which limited his ability to work.

But he received more than $400,000 in May from a civil settlement for the injury and had big plans for his future.

“He just wanted to live and be happy,” Katrina Gregory said. “We had nothing. You come into some money, you just want to be happy and get things you never had.”

John Gregory indulged his love for fashion and bought a new truck, relatives said.

He’d returned to the New Orleans area about two weeks ago to visit family and friends. But he was due to head back to Atlanta on the day he was killed, Katrina Gregory said.

In addition to his infant daughter, Nylian, John Gregory is survived by a son, Zion, 9, and another daughter, Kentrell Woods, 19; his father, John Willis; two other sisters, Joy and Rockell Gregory; and four brothers, Wayne, Taurus, Jessie and Steven Gregory.

His relatives and friends planned a memorial in his honor Wednesday night at the spot where he was shot.

As for the person or persons who killed him, Katrina Gregory said there will be justice.

“I just pray, I hope God has mercy on them at Judgment Day for what they did to my brother,” she said.

Anyone with information about the shooting death of John Gregory is asked to call the Sheriff's Office investigations bureau at 504-364-5300. The public can also call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-7867. Callers do not have to give their names or testify and can earn a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an indictment.